What you missed in PyeongChang last night: Competition begins

Wednesday night featured the first competition of the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang. The Olympics began with a new event, mixed doubles curling which featured Matt and Becca Hamilton. The other big news of the night, Erin Hamlin was selected to be the flag bearer for the United States.

Erin Hamlin named Team USA flag bearer

Erin Hamlin will be the flag bearer for the U.S. on Friday morning in the Parade of Nations. Hamlin is the first U.S. athlete to win an Olympic singles luge medal. The United States sent its largest contingent ever to PyeongChange with 244 athletes. It's Hamlin's fourth trip to the Olympics.

"It was a pretty big shock," Hamlin said, "but it is an honor and a privilege to be recognized by all of Team USA."

Curling: Hamilton siblings split pair of games

The Hamilton siblings sought redemption after losing to Russia in the mixed double curling event at the 2017 World Championships. The duo beat Team OAR 9-3 in seven ends. The Hamilton's took a quick 3-0 lead after Becca cleared the house with a double-takeout on the final throw of the first end and never relinquished their lead.

In their second game of round robin play, the Hamilton siblings were tied with Canada 3-3 through the first four frames before Canada tallied three points in the fifth frame to pull away for a 5-2 advantage. Team USA answered with a point in both the sixth and seventh ends before Canada scored in the eighth to secure the win

Outside of the U.S. matches, Switzerland topped China and Finland to start round robin play 2-0. It is the only remaining undefeated team. Six other squads currently hold a 1-1 record through two games, while Finland sits at 0-2.

Four U.S. men advance in normal hill qualifiers

Ski jumping began early Thursday morning with the qualifying round of the men’s individual normal hill competition. All four U.S. men who participated qualified for the next round.

Olympic rookie Kevin Bickner finished the qualifying round in 25th with a distance of 98 meters and a total score of 114.0 points. Michael Glasder placed 40th, while William Rhoads and Casey Larson finished 45th and 46th, respectively.

The men’s individual normal hill competition will continue on Saturday at 7:35 a.m.